Sword Art Online: Revival
by Mr.Ninja
Summary: See the world of Sword Art Online through the eyes of Richard Zodiac as he joins together with original characters from the anime/manga such as Kirito, Asuna and more. This story will cover the entire Aincrad and Fairy Dance arcs, while GGO will be posted as a separate story. Updates are every saturday. Rated T for violence, mild language, and suggestive imagery. Enjoy the story !
1. Chapter 1: A mysterious package

Sword Art Online : Revival Chapter 1 : A Mysterious Package

Disclaimer : I don't own sword art online, only my personal character. All credit regarding the sao universe and its characters goes to the creator of Sword Art Online: Reki Kawahara

Beep,beep,beep,beep,beep. "Ugh, shut up !" a sleepy voice yelled from the bed. I slammed my fist against the alarm clock, knocking it over in the process. "Well, at least i have a reason to get up now " I groaned managing to flip myself over with difficulty. As I picked up my alarm clock, I noticed my calendar with a red circle around it, indicating it was a special day. Curiously, I glanced over to it, only barely making out the words due to still being groggy. "Hmm, Sword art online " " What the ? I don't remember why I put this. Oh well probably just a fluke". I make my way over to the bathroom to freshen up. "Wow, i'm a mess " I reply to no one in particular as i see my reflection. My short dark brown hair was flipped to the side in an uneven way, giving it a goth impression. As soon as I was starting to make my myself look decent, I heard the doorbell ring. " Huh ? who could that be ? " I suspiciously make my myself over to the door. I am surprised to see a male figure standing in front of me. " Hello, I have a package for Mr. Richard Zodiac " he states monotonously. " Yes, that's me " I say still puzzled. " You're Mr. Zodiac ?" he says, almost scoffing. " Yes, is that a problem ?" I was beginning to become annoyed. " Who does this guy think he is " I comment internally. " No, not at all, I was just expecting someone older " He says gazing down at the smaller youth in front of him. " My parents died in a car crash, so they left me in charge, so you can address me as " I explain desperately trying to hold back bad memories from the accident. " Oh I see, well here you go " he hands me the package unsympathetically. " Damn, this is heavy " i state struggling to maintain a good grip. " Just sign right here" The delivery man says without even lifting a finger to help me. I manage to sign while holding the heavy package, it was sloppy, but hey what do I care ? I drop the package after the man closes the door behind me. " I don't remember ordering anything, I gaze at the label,especially not anything from japan". I opened the package to find what seemed to look like a game console and a game along with it. On top was a letter attached. The letter read : Here is your nerve-gear console sword art online bundle. We apologize for the long wait as this product has been high in demand and was in beta-phase for an extended period of time. Hope you enjoy ! from funKO. As I began to look over the items, something clicked. " I remember now, my parents had ordered this for me as a present before they went on their business trip before the accident." Seeing the present in front of me, made me choke. Tears started to well up in my eyes. " No, I will not let a good, positive thing be made into a negative moment " I forced myself to stop crying, wiping my now bloodshot eyes. " Well, I might as well set it up and see what this is about " I slowly walk to the tv in my room, which contained multiple game consoles, such as an xbox one, a Ps3, and a wii. As you can probably tell i'm a big gamer so while I was still perplexed, there was a part of me that was eager to test out a new system. After setting the nerve-gear up fairly easily, I only had one thing left to do : play it. I inserted the disc and looked around for a power button, only to find that there wasn't one. "Where the heck is the power?! " I exclaim angrily, feeling very aggravated. I scanned the instruction manual over multiple times, only to still be left in the dark. " Well, that was helpful " I utter sarcastically, feeling defeated. " What's the point of having an instruction manual if they don't even tell you where the most basic component of a console is ! " I mutter to myself furiously as I grab the hunk of junk and toss it off my shelf. It falls to the ground with a clang, but is still intact. As i bend down to pick up the nervegear, I notice words engraved in a small font on the left side. " Link start" I read the words curiously, but as if they were meaningless. Suddenly I hear a soft humming sound come from the equipment. I take the helmet- shaped object and place it on my head, still not knowing what was expected next. Instantly the grey,dark atmosphere became filled with color as flashing lights flew toward me at rapid speed. Then everything turned white.


	2. Chapter 2: A whole new world

"Ahhhhhhhh" ! I screamed as I felt my head being throbbed back and forth, my brain turning into mush. " Whats going on ?! " I yelled at the top of my lungs to myself, yet somehow expecting an answer from someone. My scream was cut off by a whoosh of bright light engulfing the world that was once pure white with absolutely zero color. I fell on the ground and laid there blinded from the flash of light that had burned through my light brown eyes. I struggled to balance myself as I rose to a standing position, feeling as if I had consumed too many bottles of liquor the night before. " What is this place ?" My eyes darting rapidly in amazement at what lies before me. As i begin to take a step forward, a panel suddenly appears in front of me. I glance at the panel perplexed as a male's voice echoes inside my ears. " Welcome to Sword Art Online, I am Kayaba Akihiko the creator of SAO. SAO is not simply a game, it is a virtual experience that is unlike anything you have witnessed before. I have strived to make this to be the best possible adventure for those who are new and those who are returning. I hope you all enjoy the game, good luck out there. The voice ceased and my ears were once filled with the relaxing upbeat nature of the environment again. However something Kayaba said sounded off to me, the word returning. " Returning ? " My mind still puzzled by this statement, " This game has been in development for years, no one has been able to get their hands on it" I said baffled. I decided to not pay to much attention to it, as it was probably a minor detail. I made my way over to the now flashing panel in front of me. There were a set of instructions listed in a tutorial format, categorizing steps in order. Choose your name was the first step which should have been pretty obvious. I proceeded to type in my full name when an error message appeared across the screen. " Too many characters, ok no big deal" I said calmly realizing something like this could happen. I erased my last name and pressed enter, confident that it would suffice. The same error message appeared on the panel once again. " What kind of bullcrap is this ?! " I yell angrily which frightened the nearby rabbits who were in the pastures. " Sorry " I apologize to them,fully knowing that they were incapable of understanding my remorse. I pause to think for a suitable name that would be short enough. Unfortunately, my mind drew a blank which always happens when I am required to depend on it for situations such as these. However, I when I glanced at my watch to see the time, I noticed a name engraved on it : Rick. Immediately, my mind brought me back to the memories of my mom. She had given me this watch for my birthday along with my nickname. " I thought you might like it" she smiled at me gently as she watched me tear open my present in excitement. " Thanks mom " I enter my nickname in the panel with a more positive attitude. The panel now read : name chosen Rick, is this ok ? I confirmed the choice as I glanced over at the next step. " Choose your weapon " I read already thinking about my choice, knowing it would be extremely important. The panel had various selections to choose from ranging from swords to battleaxes to bow and arrows and even more complicated weaponry. I gleamed in excitement seeing all the unique equipment before my eyes. I scanned over the weapons until my eyes fell upon one particular sword that I felt was calling to me. The sword was bronze with a red cross emblem at the very top; it was simple, but seemed very effective in battle which was my kind of sword. I selected the bronze sword and immediately it appeared out of thin air, which then neatly fell into my open hand. I took a couple of practice swings, which proved that while it was a good weapon, I needed practice : lots of practice. I finally came down to the last step which was choose your gear and selected a white overcoat to compliment my blue jeans and white t-shirt. I had also decided to purchase arm gauntlets as a method of basic protection. I was finally ready to face the world of Sao and ultimately complete the game. Suddenly I heard a high pitched scream in the distance. I turned my head to see what the commotion was when I noticed a red haired adult male wearing a red bandana running as fast as his scrawny legs could carry him. I was tempted to laugh at the sight, but since I was a new player, I didn't want to make any enemies, so I refrained. The man began to move in my direction panting and yelling at the same time. " What the hell is wrong with this guy ? " I mummered to myself, " I hope everyone in this game is not like this " I state, now noticing how close the red haired male is to me. He crashes into me, thrusting me to the floor. " Well this is awkward " I remarked, but the man was already regaining his balance and was about to be off again. " Hold on a second " I grab his hand as he tries to escape. " Let me go! " he yells desperately trying to free himself from my grasp. " Why ? why are running and screaming like a maniac ? " I questioned curiously. " Bbbb- Boar ! " was all he managed to yell as he screamed in terror. " You're running from a pig ? " I scoffed thinking he was joking " what did you do ? tell him how bacon is made ? " I laughed hysterically not even bothering to attempt to contain myself. The male didn't even bother to reply to my comment, he simply broke loose from my grasp and continued to run, tripping over himself in the process. I continued to laugh as I fell to the ground crying. " What a loser, glad to see i'm not the biggest noob here " I howl as I lay on the grass punching the ground. Snort ! I immediately stop laughing and slowly turn around to see what made the noise. A muscular, livid, red eyed boar stands before me; my smile is turned into a scared stiff expression. The wild pig clamps his hooves against the ground, ready to charge. " That can't be good " I gulped fearfully to afraid to even move a muscle. The boar sprang forward with surprising speed ready to trample me.


	3. Chapter 3: A New Ally

A/N : Hello everyone. I wanted to apologize to all regarding my upload speed. I have been very busy with taekwondo and studying for a math regents that I previously failed. To make it up to you I will be posting updates today, wednesday and friday. I will be going on vacation this saturday, but will do my best to continue to upload on days where I am available. Thank you all for your patience.

Squeal ! The boar launched itself towards me, bloodlusted and ready to attack. Springing up to a standing position, I managed to sidestep out of the way without the boar inflicting any injury upon me. " That's no pig, that's a freakin monster ! " I exclaim trying to catch my breath while preparing myself for another attack. The boar snorted in frustration as it charged forward, attempting to land a hit on me. Bringing my sword up with my right hand, I clumsily swiped at the pig, only to miss entirely, leaving myself vulnerable for the boar to pounce on me. I grimace in pain as I am shoved across the ground landing hard on my back. Suddenly, a green hud appears over my head which I assumed had to be my health bar. Sure enough, The green coloration decreased in size indicating that I had lost some of my health.

"Uhhh" I grunt as I force myself to maintain focus on the enemy ahead of me. " There's no way I'm going to lose, not to a lousy pig!" I scream in rage as I sprinted towards the boar, sword in hand. As I lean in to strike, The boar swats my sword away with its tusks, making me lose my grip on my weapon. The bronze sword falls harmlessly on the grassy terrain in a swift motion, leaving me unarmed as I struggle with the livid pig. Desperately, I attempt to punch the creature hoping I can still defeat the foe. This proves to be useless as the pig rams into my chest, digging its tusks into my torso with great strength. " Gaah" I howl in agony as I feel a shock travel throughout my body. The green hud appears again, diminishing once again even further. I realize my grave situation as I glance over to see an orange portion now take over the bar. " No at this rate i'll be done for" I hopelessly claw at the ground, intending to regain balance to resume combat. My efforts prove to be futile as I still lay in the same spot. "I'm completely drained, I have no more strength " I reason trying not to be foolish. The animal, sensing my defeat, began to grind it's hooves against the floor, preparing for one final charge. " I can't believe I'm going to die like this " I say in shame, " maybe I'm just not meant for this game after all ". The wild beast dashed forward tusks ready for the kill. I close my eyes in fear, bracing for impact. Clang ! The sound of metal rings against my ears. Slowly opening my eyes, I see a blue shaded figure standing in front of me." What ?' I state in confusion with a hint of fear. The figure remains silent as it effortlessly pushes the creature away with a long, slender sword that resembled a katana.

The boar became even more angrier as it reeled its hooves back and pounced forward faster than ever. The unknown player simply sneers as the sword is readied in a combat stance. As the boar attempts to attack, the player swipes down in a vertical motion breaking the boars motion of fluidity. The sword struck the boar in the head, ripping through its fur coat. The wild pig squealed in pain as the edge of the blade was thrusted into it's skull, stunning it. The same green hud popped up above the boar, which was now filled in red. The enemy was almost down. " Horizontal Square ! " The figure proceeded to follow up with a 4- hit sword combo slicing the pig in a square motion . The creature let out a final grunt of pain before disappearing into light blue pixels. The anonymous player placed his sword back in its sheath and sighed before walking over to my fallen weapon. " You'll be needing this " He tossed the bronze blade to me as I awkwardly fumbled with it before successfully catching it. The figure in front of me was a young male about my age. He had long black hair and a light skin complexion. A brown chest guard rested upon his slim frame. " My name's kirito what's yours ? " he says as he reaches out his hand to me. " Richard but call me rick " I reply taking his extended hand pulling myself up. " Your amazing , how did you do that move ? " I question still in awe over him defeating the boar. " Hmm, oh you mean the horizontal square ? It's quite easy once you learn you to use your sword properly " He stated mild mannered. " Yeah properly Hehehe" I laughed nervously in embarrassment. " Hey do you think you teach me ? " I pleaded, seeing this would probably be my only opportunity to improve my skills. " Sure why not ? I've got time " he responded shortly after. After what seemed like hours of basic movement and combat training, we were finally finished.

" I think I'm getting the hang of this " I say excitedly as I take some more practice swings before accidentally bonking my head with the hilt of my sword. " I can see that " kirito smirked in laughter as he watched my pathetic performance. I quickly peered over at my watch which immediately stopped my laughter. " Crap how long was I in here ?! " I exclaimed in surprise trying to regain my composure. " Nice meeting you kirito but I have to go now " I quickly scan through the menu for an exit. " No problem if you ever want to train again just meet me here " He says calmly. " Sure thing " I managed to calm down realizing what a great friend I had just made. Unfortunately what I saw next brought me back into my original frenzy. " Hey kirito ? " I said apprehensively. " What is it ? " he glances over me with sudden worry. " Why is there no log out button ?"


	4. Chapter 4: Enter The Death Game

" What are you talking about ?" Kirito questioned inquisitively, " of course there's a log out button. " I wish I was wrong, but there really is no log out button" I try to explain while also attempting to stay under control. Kirito quickly pulled out his in-game menu and scrolled through the settings only to find out that I was telling the truth. " What the ? that's odd " he stated examining the menu like it was a prized ancient artifact of some sort. " Well what do we do now I need to get it out of here ! " My anxiety increasing with every word. " Calm down, it's probably just a glitch or bug in the games system. They should be announcing a patch sooner or later. He was being awfully calm about the situation, way too calm. Just as my thoughts began to wander, a loud computerized voice echoed throughout the entire area. " Players of Sword Art Online, as you have probably realized there is currently no log out option in the game menu's settings bar. I urge you all to remain calm and not to panic, this will be taken care of as soon as possible. There will be a meeting on the 1st floor of Tolbana further discussing this matter. That is all. "

The message concluded and I had begun to breath a sigh of relief. " See I told you it was nothing to worry about" he said confidently, "Come on let's go to the meeting". " How do we get there though ? " I asked with a puzzled look across my face. He simply smiled and pulled out his item menu revealing a light sky blue crystal with a white spike design around it. " Tolbana " was the only word that came out of his mouth. He immediately disappeared into thin air as blue pixels took his place where he once was. My jaw dropped in amazement seeing the sight before my eyes. " Where the hell did he go ? He just vanished " My mouth still agape in pure awe. " Man, kirito you are just full of surprises " I mumble to myself as I pull out the same crystal from my item menu just as I had seen him do. " Tolbana ? " I said still unsure if it would really work despite seeing its previous success. My body suddenly was transported from a grassy terrain to an immense, populated town in an instant.

" What took you so long ? " I turned my head to see kirito leaning against a wall with a smug look on his face. " Excuse me for being a noob " I said sarcastically but in a joking manner. Kirito laughed, " The meetings over there " he said pointing to a very large cluster of people all gathered in a circle in the middle of the town. I could hear others discussing about the patch that the creators had to offer, and I have to admit I was curious as well. However, I couldn't shake a feeling of worryness. Kirito seemed to notice because he put his hand on my shoulder in order to comfort me. " Hey don't worry it's going to be okay " he said smiling optimistically at me. I wanted to speak, but all I could do was muster a slight nod at him before turning away. " Hey look over there " a voice said out of nowhere. I turned my head to the front where I saw a sight that was unlike anything I have seen before. A huge humanoid figure with an equally enormous red robe was floating over us.

I tried to see his face, but it was impossible due to the shadow casted that made his hood seem completely empty. " Is that the game creator ? " That was the question on everyone's minds, at least I would think so. Suddenly, the red hooded figure spoke in a loud, booming voice that echoed across the entire town. " Greetings players of Sword Art Online, I am Akihiko Kayaba, The creator of the game". This confirmed our suspicions and made me even more eager to listen. " I have called you all here to discuss with the glitch that prevents players from leaving the game, known as the log out button." " As you know I had promised a patch to repair this flaw in the system. " I could sense the tension in the air as everyone waited to hear what brilliant solution Kayaba had come up with. " I am here to tell you that there will be no patch." " What ?!" A chorus of anger arose from the crowd including me. " Well then what will there be ?" A person from the crowd asked hopefully. " That's right, he might have something different in mind " I forced myself to calm down and hear him out.

What he said next though brought me into pure rage and confusion. " There will be no remedy to this problem, in fact this was not meant to be a problem at all. " " What kind of crap is that ?! " I screamed not even trying to keep under control any more. " Of course it's a problem, we can't stay here forever ! " Kirito glanced over to me in surprise at my bold statement. Kayaba remained unfazed however and continued to talk as if nothing happened. " Of course you will not stay here forever, one way or another you will leave the game eventually." " What do you mean by that ? " A player asked in concern. " Well let's just say this" Kayaba seemed to grin in delight as he continued talking " this game is under new rules". " What's one of the rules? " The same player from before asked not really sure what to expect. " There is only one simple rule to this game : If you die in the game, you will also die in real life as well. Suddenly there was silence in the air, no one dared to say a word. Then a roar of wrath overtook the silence, " What ?! That's impossible, who the hell do you think you are anyway ?! ". I was seething with rage " What gives him the right to do this, to trap us in his own experiment like some kind of lab rat !". With all the courage I could manage, I roared at kayaba making sure he would hear me. " I'll kill you before this game ends, that I swear on ! ". The red hooded figure gave me an evil smile before saying " I'm counting on it ! I would love to see you try. " " You little- " Kirito cut me off with a firm pat on my shoulder. I could see that my anger was overtaking me and I wouldn't allow it. " Good luck players, you're going to need it ". Those were the last words of kayaba before he vanished into millions of light blue pixels. This was no longer a game, it was the game. The game of life or death.


	5. Chapter 5: The First Of Many Raids

Panic and fear have arisen in the hearts of those in the world of sword art online. What was supposed to be a nice, welcoming virtual experience quickly became something entirely different after Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of SAO, decided to turn the tables on unsuspecting players such as myself and kirito. Realizing our grave situation, I immediately began to lose my mind and abandon all rational thoughts. " That animal, I'll rip him apart in pieces for this ! " I said in fury, completely forgetting the fact that he was the creator of the game and I was a simple noob. Kirito tried to be the voice of reason and calm me down. " You'll only get killed, do you really think you stand a chance ? You almost died to a level 1 enemy " He stated calmly.

Despite knowing he had a point, I refused to believe that I couldn't win, letting my anger take control of me. " I'm going after him with or without you " Just as I turned to leave, I felt a strong force grab me by the hand. I struggled to get free, but the grip was too strong and maintained complete control over me. " Let go of me, This isn't your decision" I said harshly still struggling to leave his grip. " It is my decision, It would be a decision that I would have to live with for the rest of my life knowing I could have stopped you ." I thought I saw small trickles of water in kirito's eyes, but he quickly wiped them away before I could question him about it. Seeing this instantly made me calm down and to approach the situation in a new light. " Well then what do you propose we do ? " I asked curiously, fully aware that he probably had a plan up his round blue linen sleeve.

" I say that we go on a raid " He grinned early at the word. A raid ? I thought to myself, What does he mean by a raid ? I was well aware of what the term meant by a video game standpoint, but due to the circumstances I didn't consider this a game anymore. Kirito seemed to know exactly what I was thinking because he preceded to inform me about the raid in this game. " A large group of people team up in multiple parties to take on various quests or bosses together to clear the game in a more effective way " He imputed casually, as if he were a dictionary. " Cool idea, but one question ? " I said still not fully convinced. " Where the hell are we going to find a large group of people to team up with ? "

Instead of being stumped like I thought he would, Kirito simply shook his head in confidence knowing exactly that I would propose a question such as that. " There's one run by Diavel, the leader of the 1st floor boss raid party, he can help us advance through at least the 1st floor. " Although I found the information extremely helpful, I was curious and a little concerned on how kirito was such an expert on the game despite him being a new player just like me. " Say Kirito, how did you discover this information ? " I question inquisitively intending to catch him off guard. Kirito's pupils seemed to increase a bit as he struggled to come up for an answer. " Well you see, I heard it from a group of players a while ago after Kayaba made his entrance" He explained, satisfied that his answer would suffice.

" Good looking out kirito" I patted him on the back in admiration, although I was still a bit suspicious about his forced answer. Before I could question him further, he proposed that we get some rest to prepare for the big raid tomorrow. After coming across a nearby inn, we checked into our rooms and went to our beds, before falling asleep. " How he is so knowledgeable ?" I muttered to myself, the question refusing to leave my mind. Those were the last thoughts on my mind before falling into an abyss of sleep. I awoke the next morning to the smell of smoke and a loud shriek that pierced my ears. I opened my eyes to see a blazing fire on the stove and kirito desperately trying to extinguish the fire. " What the hell happened ?! " I screamed dashing over to the kitchen in terror.

" I was trying to make us breakfast for the big raid " He said smiling sheepishly holding a burnt piece of bacon that soon disappeared into ashes. " Yeah man, stick to fighting because cooking is definitely not your forte " I uttered scoffingly at his failed attempt. He sighed heavily before taking out a teleport crystal and said in defeat " Starling City " before vanishing into light blue pixels. " Hey wait up, I still need something to eat can we order out ? " I announced before taking off with my own teleport crystal. I shortly arrived at another busy environment similar to Tolbana. I quickly scanned around for kirito, eventually noticing him in blending with a large group of people which I assumed was the raid party.

I found an available spot next to kirito on the bench unaware of what was happening. A blue haired male player with a silver chest guard similar to kirito was in front explaining the various rules and regulations of the raid. " Good morning raid players, my name is Diavel and I will be hosting the 1st floor boss party raid. Under this circumstances, I know that all of you are eager to begin this raid but before we begin, I must go over the rules of how a raid operates. " " Eager ?! " I commentated to myself, how in their right mind would be eager to purposely put their life on the line ? I was already having my doubts about this guy, but he was our only option so I just had to bear with it.

Diavel began to rant on about rules and other useless crap that I didn't even bother to pay attention to and by the looks of the other players, no one else really did either. Until a certain requirement came out of his mouth that made me and kirito's ears perk up. " Finally you must and I repeat must have a party of at least 3 players to qualify for this raid. Me and kirito instantly looked at each other wide eyed in bewilderment. " Crap I completely forgot about that " Kirito cursed to himself for his mistake. I on the other hand was completely unaware of kirito's feelings and was focused on the situation at hand. No one else seemed to care because they already had 3 or more players in their party, but it was a different story for us.

Kirito and I intensely stared down the audience, seeking for an available third party member only to be left disappointed. " How the hell going to find a third party member on such short notice ? " We repeat one after another as if we rehearsed it. " I think I can help " A timid voice peeps. " Huh ? " Kirito and I turn our heads to find-


	6. Chapter 6 : My name is Asuna

A/N : Hello everyone. Things have been very hectic for me during the past month. I took my math regents and I passed this time. Yay! I recently got back from vacation, and there was no wifi in the suite we were staying in. Unfortunately, that meant no uploading. I also worked at a summer camp for an entire week. I understand your disappointment in my failure to upload any chapters and I wanted to apologize to everyone who has been waiting consistently. I can assure you that i'm free now and I am ready to upload on a constant basis. Enjoy the chapter !

" How the hell are we going to find a new party member on such short notice ?! " Kirito and I repeat in absolute terror. " I think I can help " A timid voice peeps behind us out of nowhere. " Huh ? " Kirito and I turn our heads to find a red hooded figure of average height with a small frame. The figure's face was covered completely, only revealing its eyes and mouth. Normally I would have dismissed such a mysterious person, but due to the circumstances I was willing to at least inquire about his motives. " Who are you exactly ? " Kirito stole the words right out of my mouth before I could even utter a single word. " It's better if you don't know that right now " The cloaked figure responded without a single trace of emotion, which made me even more nervous. Kirito raised his eyebrows in suspicion before speaking once again. " Are you a solo player by any chance ?

" The unknown player eyes widened at the question, which I'm sure kirito took note of instantly. " Yes, I am " the figure replied hesitantly as if the player were hoping kirito wouldn't come to that conclusion. " I operate by myself always, but in certain scenarios such as this I briefly form an alliance. " The player opened up the in game menu and scrolled down to the invite players option. " So do you want to join me or not ? " The figure said in calm, yet intimidating tone that was not present before. " What's up with this guy ? I'm getting a bad feeling about this " I comment to myself hopefully assuming kirito thought the same. Surprisingly, Kirito opened up his own in-game menu and scrolled down to the invite players option also. Instinctively, I grabbed his hand before flashing the mysterious player an unconvincing smile.

" Excuse us, we need to go over something that we forgot to discuss before " I said as calmly as I could while I held back a struggling kirito. " Can't it wait rick ? The raven haired boy stated still trying to make negotiations with the unknown user. " No it can't " I said gritting my teeth before pushing kirito aside to a nearby wall. " What the hell is wrong with you ? " I said in a serious tone while I was screaming internally. " What are you talking about ? " Kirito questioned as if we were a naive child. " We have our third party member now, that's what we wanted " he said still not understanding my concerns or he was ignoring them all together. " I don't what a party member that's so edgy though, how can you be okay with this ? " Kirito simply shook his head before replying in his usual laid back attitude. " We don't know his motives yet, don't be so quick to judge " He spoke before glancing over at the hooded figure, who was still silent as ever.

" Quit with that fortune cookie bullcrap, I'm not going to wait around to comprehend this person's motives. " " And how did you know he was a solo player ? " Are you hiding something too ? " My curiosity was beginning to overtake me but at this point I didn't even care. At this, Kirito started intently at me with eyes that were completely different from his usual self. " Somethings you have to decipher your self. " You can make any judgement you want, but remember they have consequences. " I was completely paralyzed with fear, my body refused to move and my brain refused to think. Suddenly, Kirito tapped me on the shoulder playfully recovering me from my daze; " Now will you please let him join our party " he said in a cheery tone that I had completely forgotten of due to my shock. " Yeah sure, I was being stupid " I manage to say even though i still had my doubts. Kirito smiled before turning back to the player and gave a nod. " Thank you " the figure said in his usual ominous tone. All of us opened our in game menus before accepting each other's invites officially declaring us a three man squad. As I accepted the player's invite, I caught a glance of the username. Asuna. Nice name I thought to myself, maybe this guy isn't so weird after all. The one i was truly concerned about was my new friend kirito. " You can make any judgement you want, but remember they have consequences " What was that ? I've never seen anything like that before. That fear I felt when his black eyes stared into my own, I saw a completely different side of him. While I was pondering in my thoughts, a fist collided into the upper portion of my arm.

" Ouch ! " I yelled in pain, " what the heck was that for ? " " Asuna wanted us to meet up in Tolbana later to give us items for the big raid tomorrow. " So you had to punch me to tell me that ? " I questioned sarcastically while rubbing my arm. " Must have been a glitch in the game " Kirito smirked smugly before breaking into laughter. " I'll give you a glitch in the game " I muttered before noticing the Asuna's expression. A slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth that almost seemed adorable. After catching my eye, Asuna quickly regained the original solemn expression. " Well see you at tolbana soon " Kirito remarked trying to break the awkward silence between the three of us. " Farewell " Asuna replied formally before teleporting away with a teleport crystal. " I'll still never get used to that " I say shaking my head in disbelief while kirito smiled at my novice remark. " Well you better get used to that and a whole lot more, a raid is no joke " He said suddenly getting serious. " Yeah, I got it. " I responded fully grasping the situation at hand as well. Kirito and I talked for hours about raid preparations until we had to meet up with asuna.

As soon as we arrived there, All worrieness and suspicion began to take over me. The place was deserted, not a single player was outside and the lights were awfully dim. " I knew this player was weird " I was beginning to feel that this was a setup of some kind. " Maybe he's just late " Kirito said in a reassuring manner while surveying the area. Sure enough kirito was right again as a red hooded figure stepped out of the shadows a few minutes later. " Sorry I'm late, the bread took forever to bake" The player said in a slightly more vibrant tone than before. " I'm sorry, did you say bread ? " I stated making sure I wasn't dreaming. "What kind of player bakes bread for their party members" I thought suspiciously. Asuna gave me a nod before unveiling a basket full of round, smooth rolls along with a jar of cream. " That looks delicious " I thought but the nagging thought of this player being untrustworthy stopped me from taking any. " Well dig in, you need plenty of energy for the raid tomorrow. " Asuna grabbed two rolls before handing us the basket which disproved my theory of the bread being poisonous. " Well doesn't mean it will taste good " I convince myself before reluctantly taking a roll. I bring the roll towards me and take a bite, unsure of what would happen. My mouth was instantly filled with the sweet aroma and warm dough texture after just one small bite. " This is amazing ! " I scream dashing to grab more of these delicious rolls. Kirito also had the same idea and soon we were fighting over the mouthwatering blend of dough and flour. After finishing the delectable pastries, we were given medicine and other healing based items for the big raid tomorrow, while also discussing our battle tactics and strategy. Kirito and Asuna were a offensive tag team because of their high level combat skills. Since I clearly lacked fighting technique, I was put on defensive duty. My purpose was to heal if necessary and defend any other injured members to prevent them from dying.

After our meeting, Kirito and I rented out a nearby inn to stay for the night. While kirito was fast asleep, I was as usual pondering my thoughts about many different issues at hand. What krito had said before remained in my brain. " Somethings you have to decipher yourself. You can make any judgement you want, but remember they have consequences. " What do you mean ? " I asked myself before glancing over at a sleeping kirito. " I'll find the answer, whatever it takes" The thought soon faded away as I fell into a deep slumber


	7. Chapter 7: The Raid Begins !

A/N : Hello everyone, I know that many of you have probably forgotten about me and my story, honestly I don't blame you. I have taken a huge leave of absence from writing mostly because I have not put much emphasis on writing. There was a ton of schoolwork and other recreational activities that did pile up, however I admit that that wasn't the main cause. I completely understand those who are sick and tired of waiting on a constant basis for me to upload. I do not blame you if you never read my story again or even unfollow. I can't make promises that I can't keep so unfortunately I can't assure you all that I will be uploading consistently. To those who are still with me I can't thank you enough for your support and patience, as I know that it has not been easy. One thing I do promise however, is that I will finish this story, I owe you all that much.

Enjoy the chapter !

" Rick ? " a soft voice echoed through my ears. " Rick " the voice repeated, this time increasing in volume slightly. I sleepily turned my head away, digging it into a nearby pillow, dismissing the voice that I assumed was a dream. " Rick ! " the voice screamed in annoyance, piercing my ear drums and instantly breaking me out of my trance, causing me to shoot fearfully out of my bed. " Ahh ! " I yelled in terror, as I fell lopsided onto the hard wooden floor into a curled position. " Geez that hurt " I say rubbing my head in pain, " that was such a lifelike dream, it almost seemed real ". " It was real " the voice spoke once again this time in a much calmer tone. I slowly moved my eyes to find none other than my raven-haired friend, Kirito grinning early at me, showing a row of pearly white teeth.

" You weren't in my dream kirito, what are you doing here " ? I stated puzzled by his sudden appearance. Kirito simply shook his head before replying " Did your dream also tell you that we have our first and possibly last raid today and that if we screw up, we are all going to die ?" Kirito said disturbingly calm. " No, it didn't " I replied slightly unsure of why he would say such a peculiar statement out of the blue. Suddenly, I became instantly awake at my statement and my eyes widened in fear as the grogginess was completely drained from my body. " Oh my God ! The raid ! " I utter in panic,realizing that I was definitely not in a dream.

" That's today ! What time is it ?! " Kirito pulls up his in-game menu before saying in a monotonous voice " 10:55 ". " What time does the raid began ? " I ask, expecting for kirito to have the situation all under control. " 11: 00 " he states in a tranquil tone showing no signs of panic whatsoever. " What ?! We only have five minutes to get there ! " I said in a mixture of fear and anger " why didn't you wake me up sooner ?! ". " Hey it's not my fault that you slept through my calls, and you actually woke up at a good time " Kirito replied in his usual carefree manner. " How is this possibly a good time ?!

" I question angrily towards Kirito. " Well if you didn't wake up sooner I was going to hit you with a horizontal square sword combo" He said smugly glancing over at his sword that lay nearby his bed. " You were going to use a combo that killed an enemy on me ?! " My patience was growing thinner and thinner by the second and time was of the essence. " Relax, it would have been a weakened version of it, meaning that it would only take away about 520 HP points. " " That's more than half of my health bar ! " I scream in disbelief at his method of simply waking me up. " Hey you're learning the game, maybe we should actually test it out " He smirked pretending to reach for his sword but instead grabbing a fruit and also tossing one to me. I shook my head in laughter, allowing myself to rid of any malicious feelings towards my only friend in the game. "C'mon we need to go " I quickly scrolled through my in game menu to pull out a teleportation crystal that I had seen kirito use numerous times. " To…." I said confidently before drawing a blank and stare awkwardly at kirito, crystal in hand. " You have no idea where you're going do you ? " Kirito said smugly, folding his arms and leaning against the wall of our temporary place of stay.

" Not at all " I admit defeated lowering my head in embarrassment. " 1st floor Labyrinth " Kirito started taking out his own crystal and instantly vanished, leaving light blue pixels behind. " Hey wait up" I hurriedly use my own teleport crystal to vanish into thin air as well behind Kirito's lead. I was instantly transported to a vast open field unlike anything I have seen before in all past experiences with video games. I gazed around in awe before laying my eyes on a cluster of people that seemed surprisingly smaller than I imagined. " Must've chickened out I don't blame them " a nearby voice spoke suddenly, voicing my exact thoughts on the situation. I turned around in surprise to see Kirito once again standing right beside me as that of a loyal dog would stand beside his master. " Stop doing that " I punch kirito playfully in the arm, " I'm going to have to get you a bell or something" I say laughing energetically. " Well now that you mention it, they do sell those at the item shop" Kirito grinned before pulling out his in game menu and writing to get a bell after the raid

. I shook my head and proceeded to walk over to the group of people when I felt a sudden force holding me back. I turned my head to see Kirito with a solemn look in his eyes. " Hey Rick " Kirito said in a grim, serious tone of voice with cold stone eyes that looked as if he had seen all hell break loose. " What is it ? " I had only seen this side of kirito once before, when I questioned him about his knowledge of Sword Art Online, but somehow I felt that his emotions were different this time. He seemed afraid, which is something totally unlike him. " I just wanted to tell you that whatever happens out there, you're still my friend and it was an honor to even be by your side for this long." He paused before adding his final statement " and we will beat this game together" Immediately thoughts of Akihiko Kayaba flooded my mind back to when he announced that this game meant life or death, I remembered the rage and murderous intent that I have for Kayaba and the promise that I made to kill him before the game ended. Filled with determination, I nodded my head in agreement at his words, feeling a sense of gratitude for having such a useful ally, but most importantly a wonderful friend. I knew that we would beat this game and that I would keep my promise, no matter the cost. " Get ready Kayaba " I whispered gazing at the large labyrinth looking down upon us, " I'm coming for you".


End file.
